This one is for the old guys.

[Rick Potter]

Rich Riddle seems to have a lock on 'Remember when' threads, but I am gonna beat him on this one.

Actually, I have two, but the second one can wait.


Remember When.........cars had the starter button in different places? Like my mom's 52 Packard, where you turned on the key and floored the accelerator to push the button?

I can think of at least half a dozen other methods, how about you?

[Bruce Page]

My dad was a chief land surveyor. He had a big blue camper like work truck that had the starter located on the floorboard left of the clutch. I once drove it around the block on the starter motor and didn't even get caught, lol. I told him about it years later. We wouldn't be having this conversation if he had caught me at the time...

[Chris Parks]

SAAB had it between the seats. My Dad had a an old Chev that had the accelerator between the brake and the clutch, does that count?

[Jim Koepke]

What about cars with multiple clutches?

jtk

[steven c newman]

The smaller Ford Tractors ( 5N ?) where the gear shift had an "S" spot. You'd slide the shifter over to it, depress the clutch, and then push the shifter down to start it up


The Jeeps I drove in the Army ( BEFORE the Hum-vs) had a dimmer switch-like button on the floor. You had to push the clutch in to tap the buttom. There was a switch on the dash as well, thay had to be flipped to the right spot......didn't need a key...

[steven c newman]

I remember a Studebaker that had a pushbutton gear shift on the dashboard.....just to the left of the stearing wheel?

[Andrew Hughes]

My first truck was a Datsun I had to start it with a screw driver by holding it across the end of the starter solenoid.I did finally buy a new starter.I was earning a 100 a week roofing and cigs were 75 cents a pack.
Am I old enough ?

[Kev Williams]

75 cents? You're either a young'un or on one of the coast's... when I was in high school they were 35 cents in the vending machines!

back to starters, my uncle/grandpa/dad's (never did know who's it actually was) '48 Ford pickup had the starter pedal next to the gas pedal.

And for years-- I'm thinking '55 thru '64-- you didn't need a key to start a Chevy unless you actually locked the ignition switch.
(Possibly other GM cars but I'm not sure about those.)

And speaking of things besides starter buttons on the floor-- who else remembers getting into their friend's or relative's '59 Pontiac Super 98 and could NOT figure out how the radio was changing stations by itself? :D

[Rich Riddle]

Rick,

Saying this one is for the old guys in the Creek is not very exclusionary. It's like going in the OWWM site and saying, "this is for the guys who like old American tools." Most of us are eligible for AARP.

[Wayne Lomman]

Dunno about this old guy stuff but Dad used to cart wood for the brick kilns in winter on his '48 Chev. He welded a rod to the foot button starter to the left of the clutch pedal so that he could hill start from a stall without growing extra limbs.

Its funny how one's perspective changes. The old man died in 1970 when his truck was 22 years old. I always thought of it as an ancient relic. Now in 2016 I have a 1985 truck and a 1986 Range Rover that are 31 and 30 years old respectively and I don't consider them old. I have had much newer cars but they are worn out and the old girls are still going.

Old is my 1952 David Brown tractor which has a seat for 2 and all the pedals on the right hand side. Cheers

[Larry Frank]

I rebuilt a 1929 Model A and would occasionally use the crank to start it. That always drew a crowd.

[Rick Potter]

Rich.........I have kids eligible for AARP. One has your Mickey Mouse watch;).

[Rick Potter]

OK, I will throw in a weird one. Several British cars I have had used a starter button on the dash, which you pulled, rather than pushed. Austin Healey, MG, etc.

[Michael Weber]

OK, I will throw in a weird one. Several British cars I have had used a starter button on the dash, which you pulled, rather than pushed. Austin Healey, MG, etc. I still have one of those. 1950 MG TD. Right hand drive as well.
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[Ken Fitzgerald]

I don't remember the type of car but when I was about age 4, we lived in a complex that had two small houses. They were 1 bedroom/living room/kitchen combination with a bathroom. There were two of them. Parking was in an area next to the other house of the two. Outside, I was supposed to be playing with my firetruck, when I climbed in my Dad's car and began pushing the starter button on the dash. After I bumped into our neighbors house a time or two, he came out and ratted me out to my parents.

I didn't do it again.

[David Helm]

First tractor I drove at 13 required a crank to start (small Allis Chalmers). Had a 1960Triumph TR-3A that had a pull switch that I changed out to a spring loaded toggle switch. It also had a crank so the car could be started on a dead battery. Used that a number of times.

[Wayne Lomman]

OK, I will throw in a weird one. Several British cars I have had used a starter button on the dash, which you pulled, rather than pushed. Austin Healey, MG, etc.
Yes, my David Brown has a pull switch starter. Cheers

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

OK, I will throw in a weird one. Several British cars I have had used a starter button on the dash, which you pulled, rather than pushed. Austin Healey, MG, etc.

I know of a little red Morris that does that too. :D

I have also used the crank start on it too. People seriously do not believe the hole in the front bumper is so you can crank start it! :cool:

[Chris Parks]

The things we did to Morris Minors, they were at the bottom of the food chain so to speak...they were the days of no money and cheap cars.

[John M. Smith]

My 1961 Rambler, you turn on key, and push the neutral button. The car has push buttons for the transmission.

[Charlie Velasquez]

My first truck was a Datsun I had to start it with a screw driver by holding it across the end of the starter solenoid.I did finally buy a new starter.I was earning a 100 a week roofing and cigs were 75 cents a pack.
Am I old enough ?I was more industrious than you. I ran a piece of 12g romex to the solenoid and wired it to a simple toggle switch.

And my dad used to send me to the nearby gas station with a quarter to buy his daily pack... and I had a nickel change.

[Jim Koepke]

My first truck was a Datsun I had to start it with a screw driver by holding it across the end of the starter solenoid.I did finally buy a new starter.I was earning a 100 a week roofing and cigs were 75 cents a pack.
Am I old enough ?


I was more industrious than you. I ran a piece of 12g romex to the solenoid and wired it to a simple toggle switch.

And my dad used to send me to the nearby gas station with a quarter to buy his daily pack... and I had a nickel change.

My 1957 VW Bus had a 6 volt system. Over time the wire from the battery in the back running to the front and back again to the starter would develop enough voltage drop to not actuate the starter solenoid. I forgot to put the piece of metal between the engine and the rest of the car in when I rebuilt the engine. I could reach through and short the starter connections to get it to turn over and work the throttle on the carburetor. Eventually I discovered VW made a small relay to handle this problem. I bought one and it kept me from having to get into the back to start it.

jtk

[Mark Blatter]

My 1961 Rambler, you turn on key, and push the neutral button. The car has push buttons for the transmission.


First car I remember as a kid was a Rambler with push button transmission buttons. It was a red station wagon. It was likely about a 1963 or so.

[Rick Potter]

I had a hot rod '54 Ford that I started occasionally with a pair of pliers to short between the two legs of the solenoid. You had to remember to hold the two legs together tightly, or you could become part of the circuit.:eek:

[Curt Harms]

First tractor I drove at 13 required a crank to start (small Allis Chalmers). Had a 1960Triumph TR-3A that had a pull switch that I changed out to a spring loaded toggle switch. It also had a crank so the car could be started on a dead battery. Used that a number of times.


Allis Chalmers WC per chance? I was too small to crank it, probably too small to drive it but I remember if you didn't operate the crank right, it could kick back and break your arm.

[David Helm]

Allis Chalmers WC per chance? I was too small to crank it, probably too small to drive it but I remember if you didn't operate the crank right, it could kick back and break your arm.

Can't remember the model number but I do remember the kick back. That was 61 years ago for me.

[Howard Garner]

Can't remember the model number but I do remember the kick back. That was 61 years ago for me.

Small Allis Chalmers were the C (3 speed) and the CA (4 speed - 4th being road speed)
We had the C with mower and cultivator attachments

[Alan Rutherford]

OK, I will throw in a weird one. Several British cars I have had used a starter button on the dash, which you pulled, rather than pushed. Austin Healey, MG, etc.

My 2005 Prius also has a starter button on the dash, although you push it. "Reboot button" would be more like it. Anyone who ever drove a Prius would know what I mean. There were and still are some fine old cars out there but some things have definitely changed.

[Mike Null]

Well, nobody's mentioned it so far so I guess that makes me the old fogey but one or more of my early cars had a choke. I can't remember whether it was my '40 Ford woody or my '47 Chevy. My recollection is that the ford had a starter button on the dash and the Chevy had it on the floorboard. The Ford had mechanical brakes and the Chevy had a vacuum shift. That took some muscle in the winter.

[John A langley]

I was more industrious than you. I ran a piece of 12g romex to the solenoid and wired it to a simple toggle switch.

And my dad used to send me to the nearby gas station with a quarter to buy his daily pack... and I had a nickel change.z

Cigarettes went to $.23 a pack you use a quarter in the machine you get .02 back in the cellophane

[Al Launier]

I haven't read all of the above posts, but how many recall having to use your left foot for the high/low beam of the headlights? I sometimes think that was more convenient than using the smart stick in today's cars.

[Joe Tilson]

1947 Chevy. Heal on gas peddle toe on starter switch on the hump. Then again I been driving since I was 10, and that was 1957.

[Jim Koepke]

Well, nobody's mentioned it so far so I guess that makes me the old fogey but one or more of my early cars had a choke.

A few of my cars had a manual choke. One even had a manual throttle on the dash. Must have been the early version of cruise control.

My old VWs had a 'reserve tank'. It was actually just a valve to pull gas from a lower point in the tank. The early VWs didn't have a fuel gauge. There was a note pad on the dash so the milage could be tracked and filled as needed.

jtk

[Brian Elfert]

I have a 1995 coach bus with the high beam switch on the floor. I rarely use the high beams anymore since I put in real HID headlights.

I have driven a few old vehicles that make me appreciate modern vehicles. I worked at a Fairgrounds with 1946 Chevy trucks for parking lot shuttles. (Basically what would be a medium duty truck would be today with bench seats on back for passengers.) It had a non-syncromesh transmission that had to be double clutched along with the starter button next to the gas pedal. There was a big hand brake lever that had to be used at every stop. Manual steering with a huge steering wheel. So hard to drive I can't believe we didn't kill any fairgoers. I couldn't imagine driving one on real streets.

[David Helm]

Well, nobody's mentioned it so far so I guess that makes me the old fogey but one or more of my early cars had a choke. I can't remember whether it was my '40 Ford woody or my '47 Chevy. My recollection is that the ford had a starter button on the dash and the Chevy had it on the floorboard. The Ford had mechanical brakes and the Chevy had a vacuum shift. That took some muscle in the winter.


Don't think you are the oldest fogie on here. Many cars, into the sixties had manual chokes. Don't think any American ones did though.

[Tom Stenzel]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the '50's Powerglide transmission that had reverse where first would be now. I remember reading in the paper where someone that had one would get in a different car and take out a garage wall.

What do I remember?

Dimmer on the floor- check.
Hand choke on dash - check.
Dash mounted ignition switch on left side of steering wheel so the right hand could operate the choke- check (Ford).
Double clutching to shift-check.
Downshifting the 3-on-the-tree going uphill in the rain- check. You who remember why- you know who you are!

Working at the restaurant, having a customer dump a handful of money and having the figure out by magic if the person needed change for the pay phone, cigarette machine or the juke box. Or some combination. And getting groused at if I didn't give him exactly what he needed and didn't ask for. -Check

I didn't smoke but when I went to work at a hotel I remember people there complaining that 75 cents for the cigarette machine was outrageous.

Getting sent to the store for milk, 89 cents a gallon. That was after we had the milkman deliver for years.

I'll think of more but only after I hit the post button.

-Tom.

[Kev Williams]

While I didn't bring up the floor-dimmer switch, I DID remember in my first post to bring up the 'magic bar' radio tuners in the old Pontiacs, there was also a button on the floor to change the radio station...

Speaking of old Pontiac's, remember those 'bar' speedometers, started out as a green bar, turned yellow when you hit 40 or so, and turned red when you hit 60 or so...

Also on the floor, in the old Fords anyway, was the windshield washer pedal...

How about "air conditioning", where you had to reach down an open the vents by your feet. (We used to hide wine bottles in those vents when going to the drive-in) -- About the time they did away with manual chokes, someone got the bright idea what to do with all the choke cables in the storeroom-- use 'em to open the vents! ;)

Fly windows--

Open crankcase ventilation...

Back windows in the old Mercury's that went down...

The old T-birds with the swiveling steering column? My uncle had a '58 Mercury Parklane, it was a prototype car, it had a swiveling column, it moved automatically when you turned off the ignition. Had power windows, and power seats that moved back automatically too, you adjusted them with a knob on top of the dashboard. The back of the housing that held that knob had a sensor for the automatic dimming headlights...

Bumper jacks and actual spare tires--

:)

[Jim Koepke]

z

Cigarettes went to $.23 a pack you use a quarter in the machine you get .02 back in the cellophane

The interesting story I read on this was what happened in 1955. One of the women whose job it was to put the pennies in the pack opened a fresh mint bag of pennies and got to work. Soon after the folks who bought cigarettes in a machine were among the first to notice some of the pennies looked blurry.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1955_doubled_die_cent


Fly windows--

I remember them as wing windows. Love those and wish they were still around. Those kept me awake on many a long night drive.

I remember my brother installed a 45 rpm record player in one of his cars.

I remember when Hell's Angles were the California Highway Patrol motorcycle riders who patrolled a stretch of road through the southern California Desert. When you broke down out there and they showed up you new someone up there was looking out for you.

I remember my mom's 1939 Packard. I remember when my oldest brother traded it for a pickup truck.

I do not remember this picture being snapped:

347949

That is my dad, three of my brothers, my oldest brother's friend and me (lower left) standing by my mom's Packard. That had to be about 1952 or 1953. Otherwise our youngest brother would likely also be in the shot.

After taking a closer look at this and some other photos I think the car is our neighbors car. My moms can be seen through the windows.

jtk

[Mike Chance in Iowa]

Well, nobody's mentioned it so far so I guess that makes me the old fogey but one or more of my early cars had a choke. I can't remember whether it was my '40 Ford woody or my '47 Chevy. My recollection is that the ford had a starter button on the dash and the Chevy had it on the floorboard. The Ford had mechanical brakes and the Chevy had a vacuum shift. That took some muscle in the winter.

Still own and driving a little red one with a choke.


I haven't read all of the above posts, but how many recall having to use your left foot for the high/low beam of the headlights? I sometimes think that was more convenient than using the smart stick in today's cars.

We have three (functioning) vehicles in the garage that have that. I have to remind myself our two modern (1997 & 2001) vehicles don't have hi-beam switches on the floor. :-)

Wing windows? That is the only source of ventilation in my Morris.
Double-clutching? Been there, done that.
3 on the tree? Yup.
Reverse where 1st is now? Yup.

No one mentioned old trucks with 2-speed axles with hi/lo gears and usually push/pull buttons on the gear shift.

I'm not as old as many of you. I just happened to own or still own a number of vintage vehicles.

[Howard Garner]

Still own and driving a little red one with a choke.


No one mentioned old trucks with 2-speed axles with hi/lo gears and usually push/pull buttons on the gear shift.

I'm not as old as many of you. I just happened to own or still own a number of vintage vehicles.

Overdrive with the three on the tree? (49 Ford)